For this summer I was interested in working/traveling somewhere that is normally cold but would be warm during those summer months. I then realized I would need to obtain some new licenses but was almost repulsed when looking at the requirements.
I hadn’t really applied for a new license in almost 2 years. This was because I had stayed in Virginia for an entire year, worked some time in Florida, and then still had 2 other state licenses I hadn’t used (Texas and North Carolina).
Now that I needed to apply for a new license again, I was a bit discouraged. I naively forgot how much work it is – to complete fingerprints/background check, provide a passport like picture (some states require this), request official transcripts, take a state board of nursing law exam (some states require this), obtain verification from the ANCC, send proof of 24 hours of pharmacology CEUs or verification from my MSN program university….the list goes on.
Yet, at the end of the day, this is just busy work and you can really complete your end of the application and requirements in one day.
Indeed, the worse part had to be recalling that with each new license application, I had to request license verification from all my other nursing state licenses. This means that if I am applying for a license in Wisconsin, I would need to have the board of nursing in California, Washington, Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, and Texas, each fill out a form verifying that my license is in good standing and without disciplinary action.
First of all, the costs of these verifications can add up. I think California alone charges $100. Secondly, these verifications can take a long time to obtain. Once again California can take several MONTHS to submit this verification!
I was disappointed because I realized that by the time I received any of those new licenses, summer would be over and I would be stuck worrying about staying warm for winter.
I went ahead and had two of my favorite agencies proactively license me. I usually recommend traveling nurse practitioners obtain their own licenses, but really only initially. By going through an agency, I saved so much time and upfront expenses. It was such a smooth process to complete the pre-filled applications and have the agency representative do all the tedious work. For instance, they obtained verification from my previous state licenses, ordered my school transcripts, ordered my ANCC certification verification etc. Not to mention that they paid for every single thing saving me hundreds of dollars (even though I could have gotten reimbursed).
Fortunately, one of the states I chose to obtain a license in (Maine) did not need to verify ALL of my previous nursing state licenses. They only needed to verify my initial license which was in the state of Florida and has a good turnaround time. Maine is also part of the eNLC (nurse license compact) so I was able to use my Florida multistate RN license. This meant I didn’t have to waste time obtaining fingerprints/background check. Nor did I have to waste time completing the RN application and waiting for it to be processed.
On the other hand, Maine did have some annoying requirements for the nurse practitioner application. I had to have a supervising physician submit a letter to them stating that he supervised me for at least 24 months previously. I also had to have a previous employer notify the Maine board of nursing that I prescribed medications over the most recent 2 years.
Luckily, I had my supervising physician from my permanent job in Florida write the letter. I had been at that job for about 3 years so it sufficed. I then wondered about obtaining proof that I prescribed over the past 2 years. That would have to be a total of 6 or more employers writing a verification letter, which is time consuming. I was lucky again though, because once the Maine board of nursing received my application they emailed me and let me know that the physician who wrote my letter of supervision, just needed to email them and let them know I prescribed medications during my time working with him.
I ended up getting the Maine license in only 2 weeks! Talk about a quick turnover and ideal for traveling nurse practitioners looking to obtain a new license quickly.
Of course, the licenses I applied for with the other agency are still pending. I clearly won’t be able to use them this summer, but at least they will be ready for next summer! I better start planning where I want to go for fall/winter to make sure I have the necessary licenses in time!
The moral of the story is do not wait too long to apply for a new license! I still recommend nurse practitioners that are just starting in locum tenens to obtain their own licenses. This way you can have more job options by working with different agencies and will be more attractive to the agency/site when a job opportunity becomes available.
However, once you start collecting a bunch of licenses (like me), feel free to have agencies start proactively licensing you. This will save you tons of time and upfront money. I also realized how awesome it is to have the Florida RN compact license. Florida just joined the eNLC January 2018, so it’s the first time I was able to utilize this perk.
